The Waterfront (TV series)

The Waterfront is an American crime drama television series created by Kevin Williamson and produced by Outerbanks Entertainment and Universal Television that premiered on Netflix on June 19, 2025. In August 2025, the series was canceled after one season.

Cast and characters

Main

Holt McCallany as Harlan Buckley, owner of the local restaurant and port, as well as land, whose father ran a cartel.
Melissa Benoist as Bree Buckley, Harlan and Belle's daughter, who lost custody of her teenage son due to burning down a house with her son inside while drunk. She is an alcoholic and a drug addict. She is dating Marcus.
Jake Weary as Cane Buckley, Harlan's and Belle's son and Bree's younger brother who is running his family's business, which is sinking.
Rafael L. Silva as Shawn West, a recently hired bartender at the Buckleys' waterfront restaurant and bar, who is later revealed to be Harlan's son from an affair with Shawn's late mother Bebe, who used to work at the restaurant.
Humberly GonzÃÂ¡lez as Jenna Tate, a journalist who dated Cane in high school, who comes back to town to care for her ailing father, who owns a local hardware store.
Danielle Campbell as Peyton Buckley, Cane's wife and mother to their daughter, Savanah
Brady Hepner as Diller Hopkins, Bree's teenage son who lives with his father and has a tense relationship with his mother
Maria Bello as Belle Buckley, Harlan's wife who runs the business and is struggling with debt

Recurring

Gerardo Celasco as DEA Agent Marcus Sanchez, whom Bree is sleeping with and feeding information to about the drugs her family are dealing. He is also a heroin addict.
Michael Gaston as Sheriff Clyde Porter, the crooked sheriff in Havenport, North Carolina
Joshua Mikel as Rodney Hopkins, Bree's ex-husband and Diller's father
Dave Annable as Wes Benson, a real estate developer whom Belle is working with and having an affair with
Andrew Call as Deputy Sawyer, the Havenport deputy sheriff who later becomes acting sheriff after Porter's death, who is married to Harlan's cousin
Topher Grace as Grady, a drug supplier who the Buckleys are forced to work for

Episodes

Production

Development

On May 15, 2024, Netflix gave production a series order for The Waterfront. The series is created by Kevin Williamson who is also expected to executive produce alongside Ben Fast. Production companies involved producing the series are Universal Television and Outerbanks Entertainment. Williamson also serves as the showrunner. Four months later, Marcos Siega was expected to direct the first two episodes and added as an executive producer. On August 25, 2025, Netflix canceled the series after one season.

Casting

In August 2024, Holt McCallany and Maria Bello were cast to star. On September 18, 2024, Melissa Benoist, Jake Weary, Rafael L. Silva, Humberly GonzÃÂ¡lez, Danielle Campbell, and Brady Hepner joined the cast as series regulars while Michael Gaston and Gerardo Celasco joined the cast in recurring roles. In October 2024, Topher Grace and Andrew Call were cast in recurring capacities. On November 4, 2024, Dave Annable joined the cast in a recurring role.

Filming

Principal photography for the series took place between August 2024 and December 2024 in Wilmington and Southport, North Carolina.

Music

On May 23, 2025, Williamson's frequent collaborator, John Frizzell, was revealed to be composing music for the series. The Waterfront Soundtrack was released digitally by Lakeshore Records on June 20, 2025.

Release

The Waterfront was released on June 19, 2025, with all eight episodes.

Reception

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 68% approval rating based on 44 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Grim and pulpy, The Waterfront traffics in clichÃÂ©s but injects them with enough bravado to make for a gripping binge." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 54 out of 100 based on 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average".